Bio

Paul Brierley

Paul Brierley was raised on a family farm in central California growing alfalfa, sugar beets, canning tomatoes, grains, vegetables, flowers for seed and other crops. After earning an Electrical Engineering/Computer Science degree from the University of Colorado, he spent five years conducting applied telecommunications research in the San Francisco Bay area before returning to his agricultural roots. Paul operated Brierley Custom Hay in southeast Arizona for twelve years where he was an active leader in the Farm Bureau before joining the staff of the organization. As the Bureau's Director of Organization, he helped agricultural producers improve their industry by actively identifying and solving problems. Paul is a graduate of the Project CENTRL Rural Leadership Program and the Flinn-Brown Arizona Civic Leadership Academy. He sits on the board of directors of Arizona Town Hall, Project CENTRL, the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation, the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona District Export Council, Aerospace Arizona, and on the Western Growers Food Safety/Science & Technology Committee. With a background in agriculture, research, leadership, and politics, Paul was chosen to serve as the inaugural Executive Director of the University of Arizona’s Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.